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Warren heard of the heavy fighting at Morton's Ford about midday and immediately started riding to the front. By 3 p.m. he arrived at the ford and, deciding that the Union position was too precarious to be held, ordered Hays' division to withdraw after nightfall. However, Johnson launched an infantry
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Both divisions were back across the
Rapidan by 2 a.m., with the Confederates reoccupying their entrenchments immediately afterwards. Union casualties total 262, while the Confederates lost sixty. Due to a Union deserter who revealed the Union plans to the Confederates, Butler never made an attack on
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without any Union losses. The rest of Owen's brigade crossed the river but then encountered heavy artillery fire. Johnson brought up one brigade and parts of two others, along with additional artillery. At 12:30 p.m., Hays received permission from
Caldwell to bring the rest of his division
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attack just as dusk was starting. Hays' right flank began to falter and a counterattack by three regiments succeeded in holding back the
Confederates. At this time, Alexander S. Webb's division arrived to support Hays, until it was decided to withdraw both divisions starting about 8 p.m.
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After the battle, Hays was accused of being drunk during the battle and of acting irrationally. However, many officers, including several in his division, attested that Hays was sober throughout the engagement. All of the accusations about Hays being drunk at Morton's Ford came from the
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resisted the crossings, with sporadic fighting and the most severe fighting at Morton's Ford. By
February 7, 1864, the attacks had stalled, and the Union army withdrew during the night, with the results of the battle inconclusive.
337:, temporarily commanding the Army of the Potomac, protested that Lee had detached fewer men than Butler thought and that the local roads and weather were too poor for a winter attack. However, both Secretary of War
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ordered three hundred men of
Brigadier General Joshua Owen's 1st Brigade across the river to drive off the pickets. This was done successfully, resulting in the capture of thirty members of the
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across the ford, which took two hours, while
Caldwell positioned Union artillery on the heights north of the river; during this time Johnson continued to receive reinforcements.
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Richmond, while Lee never requested reinforcements from the city. The I Corps also failed to cross the river, never getting closer than a mile and a half from
Raccoon Ford.
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The demonstration would take place near Morton's Ford, near a bend in the
Rapidan River which formed a mile wide patch of land. Major General
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The II Corps reached the ford about 9:30 a.m.; finding a line of pickets along the bank, 3rd
Division commander Brigadier General
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to North
Carolina. Convinced that Lee had sent a larger detachment than he actually did, Butler was convinced that an attack by the
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had dug a series of entrenchments across the base of the bend. The Union II Corps, temporarily under the command of
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would force Lee to use troops from the defenses of Richmond to ward off the attack. Major General
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overruled his objections and ordered him to make the attack on February 6.
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To distract attention from a planned cavalry-infantry raid up the
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Map of Morton's Ford Battlefield core and study areas by the
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Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
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Mahood, p. 31; Trinque, pp. 42, 45, 88; Kennedy, p. 260.
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at Raccoon Ford, and Union cavalry at Robertson's Ford.
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523:, second edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
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541:Trinque, Bruce A. "Rebels Across the River", in
606:Inconclusive battles of the American Civil War
611:Battles of the American Civil War in Virginia
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534:Mahood, Wayne. "Tiger at Morton's Ford", in
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621:Culpeper County in the American Civil War
549:National Park Service battle description
462:Mahood, pp. 25–26; Trinque, p. 40.
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378:American Battlefield Protection Program
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545:, Volume 7, number 5 (September 1994).
538:, Volume 41, number 7 (February 2003).
321:in Fort Monroe, learned that General
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325:had detached a small portion of the
471:Mahood, p. 26; Trinque, pp. 40, 42.
248:, fought February 6–7, 1864.
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270:on February 6, 1864. Units of the
215:Demonstration on the Rapidan River
63:– February 7, 1864
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266:forced several crossings of the
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16:Battle of the American Civil War
521:The Civil War Battlefield Guide
352:'s division of Richard Ewell's
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55:February 6, 1864
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84:Culpeper County, Virginia
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507:Mahood, pp. 29–31.
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616:Orange County, Virginia
388:Reconnaisance [
242:Battle of Morton's Ford
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24:Battle of Morton's Ford
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360:due to the illness of
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139:Commanders and leaders
43:Sketch by Lt. Roebling
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341:and general-in-chief
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169:Casualties and losses
636:February 1864 events
444:Trinque, pp. 45, 88.
362:Gouverneur K. Warren
313:Union Major General
244:was a battle of the
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554:CWSAC Report Update
543:America's Civil War
331:Army of the Potomac
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31:American Civil War
626:Conflicts in 1864
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29:Part of the
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595:Categories
568:77°54′14″W
565:38°22′29″N
368:The battle
299:Background
67:1864-02-07
59:1864-02-06
416:Aftermath
286:Lt. Gen.
272:II Corps
257:Richmond
156:Strength
75:Location
514:Sources
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